BBC Reith Lectures 2003: The Emerging Mind

Professor Ramachandran's approach to neuroscience is guided by the principle that the examination of unusual and rare neurological disorders can yield fresh insights into the mechanisms of the normal brain. Many of the disorders he investigates have been known to medicine for some time, neglected as borderline cases or mere curiosities until now. In a series of lectures entitled The Emerging Mind, Professor Ramachandran takes the listener on a tour of unusual psychological phenomena and, through an examination of the associated neurology, arrives at some startling conclusions about the human brain. He goes on to consider the possible implications of these conclusions for subjects as varied as consciousness, identity, free will, religion, aesthetics, art and the origins of language

There are five lectures in total. Each lecture was delivered at a different location and was followed by a short question and answer session. Both the lectures and the discussions can be read in transcript form (PDF File) or listened to as MP3.